Music swirls between the wood-paneled ceiling and dark-tiled floor covering the patio at Paul Martin’s American Grill in Scottsdale as Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet arrives for lunch.
He pulls out a wicker chair and plants his cellphone next to his glasses on the table.
“I like the menu,” he said. “It’s good. It’s a good spot.”
This has become one of Tocchet’s new favorite stops for a bite to eat, but some of his previous go-to restaurants are still standing. His friends are the same, albeit older. And the swatches of green dressed up as golf courses continue to interrupt the desert landscape.